On Tuesday, at 10am, John’s well-traveled, faded-tan Land Cruiser was double-parked on Hart Street in front of my building. As he handed me the boxed BRX loudspeakers from American company GoldenEar,1 he said, “I reviewed and measured these.2 Now let’s see what you think of them.” That means it’s a test.
When doing comparisons, sequence is everything. What just left the room inevitably affects my responses to what just entered. Before I installed the $1599/pair BRXs, I was playing the twice-as-expensive ($2995/pair) Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a, driven by the new Nelson Pass–designed, class-A, single-ended, First Watt F8 amplifier. This humble little setup was among the most exciting truth-telling audio systems I’ve ever assembled, and I was not in the mood to change it. But I did.
As I set the BRXs about 6' apart on the 30 stands JA1 provided, I thought, Oh no! Passive radiators! God save me from speakers with puffing cheeks. Then I saw the luxurious, stamped-metal grilles and was delighted. I like when speakers sound right with their grilles on, and the BRXs looked like they were designed to be seen and used with their grilles on.
Then I noticed the thick, curved lip protruding 1.5 from the bottom front of the speaker and wondered if it served any purpose beyond making sure the relatively heavy grilles don’t slide off. (Later, I determined that the BRXs sound smooth and articulate with their grilles on, but I preferred the rawer transparency without.)
Denne historien er fra December 2020-utgaven av Stereophile.
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Denne historien er fra December 2020-utgaven av Stereophile.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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My last Far East trip
First comes the anticipation, that initial jet of warm water, that miraculous searching, finding the sweet spot, then heaven on earth as it cleans and caresses.
Riding the Common Wave
In the e-commerce era, brick-and-mortar dealerships must give customers compelling reasons to stop by. Los Angeles hi-fi dealership Common Wave's owner Wesley Katzir keeps customers coming through the door with a simple idea: that music matters in our everyday lives and that what he enjoys, other people will enjoy, too.
Mind Games to the bottom of the rabbit hole
After a wild decade in the biggest pop music group ever, John Lennon's post-Beatles years were spent in protest, in various kinds of therapy, in immigration court, and in search of a new musical identity.
Trane meets the Motor City
Detroit became a destination for migrating African Americans early, starting with the Underground Railroad; the city's proximity to Canada was convenient for those seeking to escape Southern slavery.
Vital art never rests
At this late date, it seems impossible that there could still be \"lost\" albums lingering in the vaults by musicians as important and successful as Johnny Cash and Paul McCartney.
DUKE IN 10
TO COMMEMORATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUKE'S DEATH, ROBERT BAIRD SELECTS A DOUBLE HANDFUL OF EXEMPLARY TRACKS FROM PERHAPS AMERICA'S GREATEST MUSICAL GENIUS.
Piega Coax Gen2 811
It's funny how we discover some music in unexpected, twisting ways.
Pass Laboratories XP-27
One of the pleasures of reviewing-and also using-products from Pass Laboratories is an encounter with Nelson Pass's writing, which can usually be found in the owner's manual and is always competent, insightful, and sometimes funny.
EMT 928 II
Modern turntables are a paradox.
Dynaudio Contour 30i
Ah, Denmark. Land of the Vikings and blue-eyed, blond-haired folk with faces sculpted just so.
